Paper-winding machine.



No. 686,|80. r Patented Nov. 5, |901. G. S. WITMAM.

PAPER WINDING MACHINE. (Application med .nm 2i, 1901.

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w sn' Patented Nov. 5, 190|. G. S. WITHAM.

PAPER WINDING MACHINE.

(Application led June 21, 1901.)

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'UNITED STATES PATENT rnicn.

GEORGE s. wirr-IAM, on MDison, MAINE.

PAPER-WINDING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent VNo. 686,180, datedNovember 5, 1901.

Application iiled .Tune 21,1901. Serial No. 65,432. (No model.) l

4[0 all whom/ may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE S. WITHAM, a citizen of the United States,residing at Madison., in the county of Somerset and State of Maine, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Paper-Winding Machines,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of paperwinding machines in whichstrips of paper cut from a wide web are Wound upon a shaft o r bar towhich motion is imparted by a power-driven drum of larger diameter, uponwhich the bar rests and which revolves in contact with that portion ofthe paper interposed between the bar and the drum. Machines of thisgeneral type have been quite extensively used, and their generalconstruction is well understood. It is customary to make thewinding-bars of great length, often over one hundred and fifty inches,while they are usually onlyabout three inches in diameter, and muchdifficulty has heretofore been experienced in winding strips or webs ofpaper evenly or uniformly on such bars by reason of the springing orbending of the bars between their bearings or points of support, whichare often from one hundred to one hundred and forty inches apart. It hasalso been found difficult in such machines to prevent the paper fromwrinkling just before being wound, the paper often being wound on thewinding-bar with numerous wrinkles in it, which very materially impairsits usefulness.

One object of my invention is to prevent the springing or bending of thewinding-bar.

Another object is to prevent the wrinkling of the paper, while a thirdobject of my invention is to feed the paper from the slitting apparatusto the winding-bar in such man- `ner that the edges of the strips ofpaper shall not overlap, and hence shall be wound in separate distinctrolls.` a

Further objects of my invention are to provide improved means forraising and lowering the winding-bar, for placing the windingbarin itsbearings, and for removing it therefrom, and novel devices whereby thegeneral eiiciency of the machine is increased, while the construction issimplified.

l-Ieretofore what are known as twodrum winders and also one-drum windershave been used. In my machine I employ one ing the Winder.

drum. Usually the paper has been carried over the top-of the winding-barand then down between the bar andthe drum. In machines operating in thisWaythe pull on the bar by the paper is in the same direction as the pushon the bar by the drum. It is for this reason that the winding-bar hastended to spring or bend. In my machine the paper is carried to theunder side of the windingbar and comes into contact with the bar (or thepaper on' the bar) and the drum in substantially the same verticalplane. Thus the pull on theshaft by the paper is opposed to the push onthe shaft by the drum, the two forces counteracting or counter-balancingeach other, and the shaft is maintained in a perfectly straight and evencondition. In some prior machines the paper has been conveyed to theunder side of the winding-bar; but in all such machines the paper hasfirst traversed a considerable portion of the drum, for which reason thecounterbalancingpull of the paper incident to my invention is notpresent, and, furthermore, it iswell known that in such machines thepaper often wrinkles while traversing the drum before reach- In mymachine the paper passes from the slitting apparatus over a spreader anddirectly from the spreader to the drum and the winding-bar Without firsttraversing any other. portion of the drum. In fact the only part of thepaper in contact with the drum is that portion immediately below thewinding-bar. The spreader is placed as close as possible to the windingmechanism, so that the strips of `paper into which the web is cut haveno chance to overlap or to wrinkle before being wound.

By my machine a web of paper of great width-say one hundred and ftyinches wide--may be slit into strips of various widths and wound evenlyand uniformlyon the same bar. The bar may be easily raised andloweredand may be readily removed from and inserted into its bearings.`

In the accompanying drawings, Figure. l

shows a front elevation of my improved` paper-winding machine. Fig. 2shows a lefthand side elevation thereof.

machine on the line 3 3`of Fig.` 2. Fig. 4 is a detail view, on anenlarged scale, showing Fig. 3 shows aV longitudinal vertical section ofone end of the.

IOS)

on the side pieces A A.

` ings and the slide-blocks.

in side elevation one of the bearings for the winding-shaft and some ofthe parts connected therewith. section on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6is a detail View of a portion of the spreader. Fig. 7 is a view, on anenlarged scale and in vertical sect-ion, of the spreader. Fig. 8 is aperspective View of one ot' the front slide-blocks which rises and fallswith the bearings of the winding-bar, and Fig. 9 shows a transversesection of one of the bearings for the winding-shaft on the line 9 9 ofFig. 5.

The main frame of the machine may be of any suitable construction. Asshown, it consists of two upright side pieces A A, having flanged basesa., and connected at their upper ends by a brace-bar B. The side piecesA A may be otherwise braced, if desired, and they haveforwardly-projecting portions A2 A3, upon which are mounted the bearingsC for the shaft Cof the drum D. The drum D is of usual construction andmay be driven in the usual way. A guard E is secured to the frame belowthe drum to prevent paper or other trash from finding its way beneaththe drum. From the front ends of the extensions A2 rise standards F, theupper ends of which have curved seats f to receive the winding-bar justbefore it is inserted in its bearings. From these seatsfrails G extendrearwardly to the side pieces A A. The rails are inclined downwardly,and the windingbar may be rolled from its seat f down the rail G intoits bearings.

The winding-bar II in the machine illustrated is one hundred and fortyinches long and three inches in diameter. The ends of the bar aresquared at h to receive a Wrench employed for giving a few revolutionsto the rbar in order to start the winding of the paper thereon. After afew layers of paper are wound on the bar the remainder of the winding isperformed by the drum. flhewindingbar is shouldered at h near each end,the portions of the bar from h to the opposite ends being reduced indiameter. By this means endwisemovement of the bar is prevented. 'Ihereduced portions of the bar project through bearings I, in which the baris free to revolve while the bearings are raised and lowered in themanner hereinafter described. The bearings for the bar are secured toguideblocks, which move vertically in guideways Figs. 4, 5, 8, and 9illustrate clearly the construction of the bear- Each set of slideblocksconsists of a rear block J, a front block K, and a central guide-blockL. The guide-blocks L are arranged to move vertically in slots a in thevertical side pieces A A. The block L is secured to the'rear block J,and the front block K is secured to the central blockL in the mannerillustrated in Figs. 4, 5, and 9. The block L is shaped to conform tothe front of the side frame A or A', the arrangement being such, asclearly shown in the drawings, that the slide-blocks are guided Fig. 5shows atransverse .per ends of the side frames A A.

vertically while being prevented from lateral movement. g

To each front slide-block L is secured a casting M, forming one memberof a bearing for the winding-bar. This casting M is provided with acurved seat m', in which fits a curved bushing, forming one-half of thebearing for the bar. This bushing may be secured to the frontslide-block L in the manner illustrated in Fig. 4. Each casting M isformed with two forwardly-projecting lugs M2, between which is arrangedthe downwardly` projecting arm n of the upper member N of the bearing.This upper member is provided with a curved or semicircular bushing n,which forms the upper portion of the bearing for the bar H. The arm 'nis hinged to the lugs m2 by a bolt n2, and the upper member N of thebearing is adapted to swing about the axis of the bolt. From the upperend of each casting N projects two lugs o, between which is pivoted aspring-pawl O, adapted to engage a tooth o', secured to the upper end ofthe casting M, the arrangement being such that when the pawl O engagesthe tooth o the two members of lthe bearing are securely lockedtogether; but when the pawl is disengaged from the tooth o the bearingmay be opened and the upper member N may be swung forward, asillustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 4. It will be observed that the twoportions of the bearing are divided not by a horizontal division, but onan incline, the point a; at the lower front end of the bearing being aconsiderable distance below the horizontal plane passing through theaxis of the winding-bar- By this arrangement when the bearings arelowered the points may be lowered below the top of the rails G and thebar may be rolled out of the seats f, down the rail G, and into thebearings in the members N, While the front members of the bearings areswung forward to the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 4. Whenthe shaft is thus rolled into position, the members N may be raised,pushed back, and locked. By these arrangements I am enabled to handlethe windingbar with great facility. The bar may be placed on the seats fby hoisting apparatus and may then be readily rolled into its bearings.I am thus enabled to save considerable time in the operation of themachine.

The upper end of each slide-block K is formed with aforwardly-projecting lug Z, to which is attached one end of asprocket-chain P, which extends over a sprocket-wheel Q on the shaft R.This shaft extends from one end of the machine to the other and ismounted in suitable bearings r, mounted on the up- The chains P afterpassing over the sprocket-wheels Q extend downwardly some distance belowthe plane of the rails G and under the sprocketwheels S, mounted inbearings supported by the frame-pieces A A'. The chains then eX- tendupwardly and are connected by yield- IOO IIO

ing connections s to the rear slide-blocks J. The sprocket-wheels Q arekeyed to the shaft R, and the arrangement is such that as thewinding-bar is raised its bearings are raised, and likewise theslide-blocks J K L, the shaft R being turned as the bar rises. When thebar is lowered, the shaft R is turned in,an opposite direction.

On the right-hand end of the shaft R is attached a pulley or sheave R',to which is attached a chain R2, carrying a weight R3. The effect ofthese last-mentioned devices is to tend to move the shaft R in such adirection as to tend to move the winding-bar downwardly. This is for thepurpose of causing a certain amount of downward pressure to be exertedfor the purpose of facilitating the winding of the paper on the bar whencoinmencing the operation, as the weight of tho bar in itself is notalways sufficient to cause enough pressure when the winding is started.On the left-hand end of the shaft R is keyed a hand-wheel T, just insideof which is also keyed a ratchet-wheel T', and between the ratchet-wheelT and the sprocket-wheel Q is arranged a large gear-wheel T2, which isloose on the shaft R. The gear-wheel T2 carries a spring-pawl T3, whichengages the ratchetwheel T. The large gear-wheel T2 engages a pinion Ubelow it, which latter is keyed to a shaft u, mounted in suitablebearings attached to the side frame-piece A. On the inner end of thisshaft is keyed a largegearwheel U, which meshes with a pinion U2 on theinner end of a shaft U3, mounted in snitable bearings u in theframe-piece A. On the outer end of the shaft U3 is secured a largehand-wheel U4, and j ust inside the handwheel a ratchet-wheel u2 isarranged and which is also secured to the shaft U3. A pawl U5, pivotedto the frame A, engages the ratchet-wheel u?. By this organization ofapparatus as the paper is wound on the winding-bar the bar and itsbearings rise, the chains P being correspondingly moved, and theseimpart a corresponding movement to the shaft R and the parts securedthereto; butno motion is imparted at this time tothe loose wheel T201`the other mechanism, geared thereto. It will `be observed by referenceto Fig. 2 that when the shaft R is moved during the ascent of thewinding-bar, caused by the gradually-increasing diameter of the paperthereon, the pawl T3 will merely ride over the ratchet T tooth by tooth.

By means of the hand-wheel Tthe windingbar may be quickly raised whendesired; but

if the winding-bar has paper wound thereon it is preferably raised bythe hand-wheel U4, and by means of this hand-wheel U4 theiwinding-barmay be lowered. Assumingthat the winding-bar has a large roll of paperwound thereon and it is desired to lift it off from the drum, thehand-wheel U4 may be turned in the direction indicated by the arrow inFig. 2. Thiswill cause the gear-wheel T2 to move in the properdirection, and the pawl T3, engaging the ratchet-wheel 1",Awill causethe shaft R to move in the proper direction to lift the bearings of theshaft. By the form of gearing shown small power applied to the handwheelUL will raise a great weight on the winding-bar. If the winding-bar iselevated and it is desired to lower it, the pawl U5 may be thrownout ofengagement with the ratchetwheel u, and a whirl may be given to thewheel U4 in the proper direction, which will, through the gearing shown,cause the shaft R to be revolved in such direction as to lower thewinding-bar. It will be noted that the top ratchet allows the roll ofpaper to lift as it grows in size without turning the gearing; but whenit becomes necessary to lift the windin g-bar for any purposethisratchet is always in position to turn the sprocket-shaft without anyattention whatever. y wheel lu2 is merely used to hold the windingbar inan elevated position while the attendant is removing it from itsbearings. When the roll of paper is wound to its fnll size and is takenout of the machine, it is necessary to lower the bearings to theirposition for receiving the empty shaft. This is done by merely throwingout the pawl U5 of the lower ratchet and turning the hand-wheel UL inthe proper direction. As before stated, a whirl may be given to thehand-wheel which will cause the bearings to run down to the properposition for receiving the new shaft. When the bearings for thewinding-bar have reached their lowest position, it will not be necessaryto stop the rotation of the hand-wheel in order to prevent binding orshock to any parts of the mechanism, because, as will be observed, thewheel T2 being loose on the shaft R the upper ratchet will allow thehand-wheel to continue its rotation even after the bearings have stoppedtheir descent. In order to limit thedownward movement of the bearingsfor the Winding-bar, I provide adjusting-screws V. (indicated in Fig.4.) These may be adjusted to the desired elevation to come in contactwith the central guide-blocks L when the bearings are lowered. Thesedevices will stop the downward movement of the bearings in properpostionto receive the empty winding-bar.

The web of paper to be wound comes from slittingapparatus (not shown inthe draw ings) and passes by guide-rollers 'Wto a spreaderX. From thisspreader the paper passes to the winding bar and drum and enters betweenthem without first passing over the top of the bar or traversing anyportion of the drum. Thedruin revolves in the direction indicated by thearrow in Fig. 2, while the shaft revolves in the direction indicated bythe arrow in the same figure. The paper eX- erts a strain on thewinding-bar in a direction opposed to its line of movement-that is, ittends to pull to the left, as indicated in Fig. 2-'- while the drumexerts a strain on the winding-bar in the opposite direction. These twoThe lower ratchet- IOO IIO

forces acting on the winding-bar counterbalance or neutralize eachother, and hence there is no strain on the winding-bar which would tendto bend or spring it. The spreader X is arranged as close to thewinding-bar as possible, being removed therefrom a distance merelysufticient to keep it out of the way of the maximum size of the roll ofpaper. It will be observed by reference to Fig. 2 that the paper movesin a downwardly-inclined direction from the spreader to the Windingmechanism. This keeps the paper o from the drum until it is directlyunder the winding-bar, while the paper comes in contact with the roll ofpaper on the winding-bar immediately over the axis of the drum at Iirstand very close-to this point, even when the roll has increased in size.When the roll has attained its largest size, the paper comes intocontact with the roll a little--say an inch-to one side of the pointwhere the paper is nipped between the bar and the drum; but this doesnot interfere with the operation, as the pull by the paper on the bar isstill opposed by the push on the bar by the drum, andthe contact ot' thepaper with the roll before entering between the drum and bar serves tolay the paper smoothly on the roll justbefore being subjected to thepressure incident to passing between the drum and bar. The winding-bar,it will be observed, is arranged directly overthe aXis of the drum andmoves iu a straight vertical plane at all times. In this way the feed ofthe paper in between the bar and the drum is properly maintained. If thebar moved in the arc of a circle, this feed would be interfered with.This spreader is for the purpose of preventing .the strips of paperintoiwhich the web is cut from overlappingvor becoming interlocked witheach other. Thisspreaderis preferablyconstructed as follows: An I-beam0d has secured to each end a bracket x2, to which is attached a disksw3, which lies close to one of the framepieces A A. To these brackets002 are attached bolts 0:4, which pass through curved slots :t5 in thedisks w3, and also pass through holes in the frame-pieces A A'. Thebolts are provided with thumb-nuts 036 on their outer ends. By thesedevices the inclination of the spreader may be varied, while it isfirmly supported on the main frame of the machine. It will be observedby reference to Fig. 2 that the spreader may be adjusted to regulate theinclination of the paper as it passes to the winding mechanism. Nothingintervenes between the winding mechanism and the spreader, so that byvarying the inclination of the spreader, as above stated, theinclination of the paper as itn enters the winding mechanism may beregulated. The spreader-bar Y extends from one side of the machine tothe other, being of a length sufticient to accommodate the severalstrips of paper which are fed to the winding-bar. The spreader-bar isoppositely inclined in crosssection, as indicated in Fig. 7, the papertraversing the bar in contact with the edge y and a short distance oneach side thereof. The under side of the spreader bar Y is formed with alongitudinal rectangular groove y', and to the under side of the bar areSecured plates Y', which overlap the under edges of the groove for ashort distance at front and rear, as indicated in Fig. 7. In the groovey' are arranged a series of sliding blocks Y2, each of which is providedwith a head y2, adapted to slide in the groove, and with an enlargedlower end ys, adapted to receive the upper screw-threaded end of a shortshaft Y3, carrying a hand wheel Y4. The lower screw-threaded end of theshaft Ysenters a yoke Z, which is adapted to slide on the I-beam x andto be held securely in any desired position thereon by the set-screw z.Thereare a number of hand-wheels Y4 with the parts connected therewitharranged on the I-beam. They may be moved from place to place on theI-beam beneath the spreaderbar, and they are used for adjusting thespreader bar. I have found that if the spreader-bar is crowned orslightly convexed between the strips of paper that the edges of thestrips are made to separate from each otherand thus are prevented fromoverlapping or in any way interfering with each other. In Fig. 6 it willbe observed that the spreader-bar is slightly crowned or convex at z.Such crowns or convex portions may be produced at the desired pointsthroughont the length of the spreader by a proper manipulation of thehand-wheels Yl, and the handwheels and devices connected therewith maybe moved from place to place under the spreader-bar, and the crowns orconveXes may be produced at the desired points. This spreader operatesvery efficiently in connection with the winding mechanism, coperatingtherewith to cause the strips of paper to be wound on the winding-barwithout being overlapped or wrinkled,while irregular winding ordinarilycaused by the bending or springing of the bar is avoided by reason ofthe fact that the paper-passes directly from the spreader to thewinding-bar in the manner before described.

I claim as my inventionl. A paper-winding machine comprising awinding-bar, a winding-drum, and a spreader placed close to thewinding-'bar and from which strips of paper pass directly into contactwith the drum under the Winding-bar, without rsttraversing a portion ofthe surface of the drum or passing over the top of the roll of paper onthe bar.

2. The combination of a Winding bar mounted in bearings movablevertically in straight lines, a power-driven drum beneath thewinding-bar; and a guide for the paper adjustable to change theinclination of the paper, just before it enters the windin g mechanism,said paper being guided into contact with the drum below thewinding-bar, with- IOO IIO

out rst traversing a portion of the surface of the drum, or passing overthe top of the windingbar.

3. The combination of th'e drum, the winding-bar, the seats therefor,the bearings for the bar, and the guide-rails extending from the seatsto the bearings.

4. The combination of the drum, the winding-bar, the guide-rails, andthe bearings, each comprising a lower member, the front lower edge ofwhich is below the axis of the bar, and a cap fitting over the upperpart of the bar. f

5. The combination of a winding-drum, a winding-bar,guide-rails for thebar, and bearings for the bar, each comprising a lower member, the frontedge of which is below the axis of the bar, and a cap hinged to thelower member and swinging thereon to open the lower bearing to receivethe bar from the rails.

6. The combination of the drum, the winding-bar, the guide-rails, andthe bearings, each comprising a fixed lower member, the front lower edgeof which is below the axis of the bar, and a cap hinged to the lowermember and adapted to swing forwardly and downwardly below the planeofthe guide-v rails.

7. The combination of the winding-drum, the winding-bar, bearings forthe windingbar, and an adjustable stop for limiting the downwardmovement of the bearings.

8. The combination of the winding-drum, the winding-bar, bearings forthe windingbar, the guide-rails, and an adjustable stop for limiting themovement of the bearings.

9. The combination of a winding-drum, a winding-bar, verticallyemovablebearings for the windingbar, powerincreasing gearing for raising thebearings and connections between this gearing and the bearings, providedwith devices substantially such as described for permitting the bearingsto rise without operating the power-increasin g gearing as the paper isbeing wound on the bar by the drum, but which automatically connects thegearing with the bearings when it is desired to raise them away from thedrum.

10. The combination of a winding-drum, a winding-bar, vertically-movablebearings for the winding-bar, sprocket-gearing connected with thebearings and moved thereby as the bearings rise during the windingoperation, a ratchet-wheel moving coincidentally with thesprocket-gearing, a loose gear-wheel carrying a pawl engaging theratchet-wheel, and powerincreasing gearing geared with the loosegear-wheel.

ll. The combination of the winding-drum, the winding-bar, the bearingsfor the winding-bar, the sprocket-chain attached at its opposite ends toone of the bearings, the upper and lower` sprocket-wheels, the shaft towhich the upper sprocket-wheel is secured, a hand-wheel andratchet-wheel fast on this shaft, a gear-wheel loose on said shaft, apawl carried by the gearwheel, engaging the ratchet-wheel, andpower-increasing gearing connected with said loose gear-wheel.

12. Aspreader for paper-winding machines, comprising an I-beam,aspreader-bar located above it, a series of hand-wheels arrangedhorizontally; screws extending upwardly and downwardly from saidhand-wheels, a series of slides on the I-beani with which the lowerscrews engage, and a series of slides on the spreader-bar, with whichthe upper screws engage.

Inv testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name.

GEORGE S. WITHAM.

Witnesses:

CLARK GiBovEE, S. E. REINECK.

